Jackrabbit volleyball team opens season today at Pepsi Panther Invitational

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MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The South Dakota State volleyball team opens its 52nd campaign today when it plays host Milwaukee at noon in the first of three matches at the Pepsi Panther Invitational in the Klotsche Center. The Jackrabbits follow the opener with a match against Virginia Tech at 5 p.m. and then play Idaho State Saturday at 11 a.m.

SDSU opens the season on the road for the 10th-straight year. The Jackrabbits went 1-2 in the 2016 season-opening Green Bay Invitational.

Setting the scene

• South Dakota State opens its 52nd season overall and 13th in the Division I era.

• The Jackrabbits sport an 894-683-8 (.566) all-time record and a 173-232 (.427) mark in Division I play. SDSU makes its second consecutive and third overall trip to the Badger State since playing in the 2009 Green Bay Classic and the 2016 Green Bay Invitational.

• The Jackrabbits play Milwaukee for the second time. SDSU lost to the Panthers 3-1 in the Augustana-Godfather's Invitational on Sept. 22, 1989, in Sioux Falls.

• SDSU and Virginia Tech meet for the first time.

• Idaho State leads the series with the Jackrabbits 1-0 after winning 3-0 in the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic on Aug. 20, 2009, in Laramie, Wyo.

• The Jackrabbits are 31-20 in season openers, including a 7-6 mark in the Division I era. They’ve lost four consecutive season openers.

A quick glance at SDSU

• SDSU has five letterwinners returning, including five starters.

• Third-year head coach Nicole Cirillo's probable starters are sophomores Makenzie Hennen (2.26 kills per set) and Ashlynn Smith (1.45 kills per set, .224 hitting percentage) on the outside, junior Sierra Peterson (1.41 kills, 0.67 blocks per set) on the right side, junior Payton Richardson and freshman Macy Smith in the middle, junior Mattison Munger (8.99 assists per set) setting and senior Ellie Benson (4.54 digs per set) as libero.

• In the alumni match, Hennen led the Jackrabbits with 16 kills and Peterson added 13. Benson recorded 14 digs. Maddie Fay finished with 30 set assists.

• The 2017 SDSU volleyball roster features 14 players from nine states. Of the 14 players, two are from South Dakota, four from Iowa, two from Nebraska and one each from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin. By class, the Jackrabbits have one senior, three juniors, three sophomores and seven freshmen.